


Odd Behavior

by izurukamukurapudding



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Child Neglect, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Nervous Saihara Shuichi, Oh wait, Oma Kokichi-centric, POV Oma Kokichi, POV Third Person, Sad Saihara Shuichi, Tired Saihara Shuichi, but it follows kokichi yknow?, oma kokichi is doing his best, saihara shuichi's parents suck lol, tags make it sound worse than it is
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:20:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28342287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izurukamukurapudding/pseuds/izurukamukurapudding
Summary: Shuichi's acting weird. Kokichi wants to know why.--Content warnings and rated teen+ for mentioned emotional abuse and implied physical abuse.
Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 94





	Odd Behavior

**Author's Note:**

> Hi I got a computer for Christmas and the first thing I did was write fanfiction. 
> 
> Technically I started this in the notes app on my phone but I finished it on here so TAKE IT.

Something was wrong with Shuichi.  
The way he held his hat lower over his eyes. The way he snuck off away from his friends every chance he got. The way he would slip in a ‘sorry’ every chance he got. How his eyes had dark circles under them. How he flinched the last time Kaito had gone to give him a friendly pat on his back.  
How he looked so afraid when the final bell rung.  
Yeah. Something was definitely wrong with Shuichi.  
And Kokichi hadn’t the slightest clue what that might be.  
To be fair, he didn’t know much of what went on with his friend. Shuichi and him weren’t the best friends, per se—he would never be on the same level as Kaito. But Kokichi trusted Shuichi, and he’d begun to think Shuichi trusted him. At least a little. That was, until he saw Shuichi quickly rush to get away from him that Monday. Shuichi was awkward and nervous and probably didn’t like Kokichi as much as Kokichi liked him, but he would never go out of his way to hide from the boy. And it was Thursday now, and Shuichi hadn’t had a single moment where he wasn’t acting strange. Where he didn’t seem more scared, more suspicious, more... secretive.  
Yeah. That was the word... _secretive._  
However, Kokichi was bound and determined to figure out what was wrong with his beloved! Though to be fair he didn’t even know where to start. Putting together the signs and time frame didn’t help. The boy had anxiety, so anything could cause the increased fear and avoidance. But it started specifically on Monday—nothing odd from the previous week. So he at least had the little bit of knowledge that it was something over the weekend. There were no upcoming tests, and even if there were Shuichi wouldn’t be acting avoidant about that. He would be complaining to Kaito or Kaede, and the other two K’s knew as little as he did. And Kokichi had ruled out anything minor, because anything minor he would seek support from his friends. Not hide under the very back corner table in the library every time lunch rolled around. Not cut any conversation short with some kind of obvious excuse. Not lie. Never lie. And he was lying every time Kaito or Kaede would ask what was wrong. He would lie every time Kaito asked how he had slept, he would lie every time Kaede asked if he needed anything. Hell, he had even lied when Maki pointed out his obvious behavior and told him she knew something was up. So Shuichi was having an as-major-as-possible thing going on right now.  
Kokichi was bound and determined to figure it out.  
As his first four classes passed, Kokichi devised a plan. He and Shuichi both shared a free period directly after lunch, so that would be the time to get him cornered. They would have to meet in the science classroom, it was the only classroom that would be empty but away enough so that nobody walked in on them. He would give Shuichi a text during lunch, get him prepared, then wait in the science room all period until Shuichi arrived or the bell rung. And if he got a denial, some excuse, he would just seek Shuichi out and drag him there himself. While most people might have worried that forcing him into talking would be a bad idea... Kokichi knew what he was up to. He knew Shuichi needed to talk about his problems to get over them, and he knew that this problem was probably an outside source. Something that couldn’t be fixed with some kind words. No—It was deeper than that. Something _happened,_ rather than something was just wrong. It had to be bigger than just a mental health episode.  
But before he knew it, lunch had begun and it was his time for the plan to go into action. Already he was on his way to the classroom, texting Shuichi as he walked. He sent a concise little “meet me in the science classroom during ur free period or ill drag u there myself <3”. It was clear enough that Kokichi was serious about the demand, but vague enough that his friend wouldn’t immediately catch onto the real reason behind it. Shuichi would be intrigued enough to let his curiosity take over and come despite the fact that he was actively trying to avoid any possibility of confrontation. And even so... forcing Shuichi would probably be good for him in the long run. Kokichi was pretty serious about this. If the other boy stopped talking, well, he had some tricks up his sleeve. He knew how badly Shuichi wanted to know his backstory... so if the boy refused to talk, then Kokichi would bribe him with his truth. He knew it would all be good, in the end, even if it came down to putting himself in an uncomfortable position. Shuichi could never turn down a little mystery-solving, after all.  
Time passed, and then passed again. Kokichi sat on one of the desks and waited. Waited, waited. Then the bell rung for lunch to be over, and... their free period begun. He waited some more, but it wasn’t at all long before Shuichi arrived.  
The taller boy peeked his head in, his eyes sweeping around before he spotted Kokichi and entered the room completely. He shut the door behind him, leaning against it. His nervousness was evident on his face, and in his voice when he spoke.  
“Uh... Wh-What did you need, Kokichi..?” Which only made the small boy grin. Things were going exactly as planned so far.  
“Well, well, look who the cat dragged in!” Kokichi said in his cheery, almost melodic voice. “Ooooo-kay, Shuichi! I’m going to get straight to the point-“ His demeanor flipped, his face falling almost blank as he allowed himself to show some actual sincerity for once. If he were to do this, he had to show he was genuine about it. “-You’re acting weird. And don’t try and tell me you’re not. I know how to read people, Shuichi, and somethings up. So tell me, what’s wrong?”  
And it was extremely obvious how taken aback Shuichi was. The subtle widening of his eyes, how his hands stopped clawing at each other for just a beat. How he began to stammer a dodgy response immediately after.  
“I-I, uh, nothing’s wrong... Don’t worry about it, okay? It’s- It’s all fine. So don’t worry.” Shuichi was, quite frankly, a terrible liar. Especially when Kokichi was so good at reading people. Honestly, he was almost offended by it. But he knew there was too good of a reason behind it to get mad.  
“Jeeeez, Shuichi! Really trying to lie to me, of all people?” Kokichi pursed his lips. “I know Kaito takes your bait all the time, but that won’t skip by me, no sir. Look—I’ll even make a compromise.”  
“A compromise..?”  
“Yeah, a compromise. We’ll take it one step at a time. Let’s start. Admit somethings wrong, and I’ll tell you why I care so much, okay? Don’t worry! I wont lie if you don’t lie.” Kokichi’s heart beat heavy and hard in his chest. Putting himself in such a vulnerable position made him nervous enough he could feel sick. But making sure Shuichi was alright was way more important than some fear... Plus, he suspected Shuichi was just as afraid. And he was already prepared for the response.  
“Wh-What? No- Nothing’s wrong. Seriously. I’m fine.” At this point, Kokichi knew he was just trying to get him to back off regardless of if not he was believed. But Kokichi was a stubborn man, especially when it was something he cared about... and he cared about Shuichi a lot.  
“Shuichi, seriously. Just stop. I’m actually worried about you, you know.” Kokichi let his worry seep into his voice, and he let himself frown ever so slightly, and how genuine it all was made his heart stutter. “You’re not as slick as you think you are—and I would know. I’m a master at hiding my problems. I want to help you. You won’t tell Kaito, and you won’t tell Kaede, so I’m going to get you to tell me. Because I care about you, and I know this has to be something you need to talk about. So just tell me.”  
That seemed to work, because he could see the way Shuichi’s face softened. He chewed at his lip, looking to the side, eyebrows furrowed together with thought. He was contemplating it, mulling over Kokichi’s words, turning them around in his mind like a stone. There was hesitance as he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, but... Kokichi got what he wanted.  
“I.. Fine, yeah, s-something’s up, but... It’s not important, so..” Shuichi still tried to lie, still tried to downplay and make Kokichi not worry. But it was a little too late for that.  
“Awwww! C’mon! Shuichi, I told you not to lie... I guess I’ll just have to lie back, then huh? Let’s see...” Kokichi paused, mocking thought. He already knew he was going to just say the exact opposite of why he cared, because it would give Shuichi his answer but still drive home the fact that he wasn’t supposed to lie. “Well.. I certainly don’t care because you’re my friend. Or because I think something really bad is going on, and I haven’t been through bad things myself, so I’m definitely not a pretty qualified person to tell if something... serious, is happening.”  
To which, Shuichi seemed to crumble onto himself, chewing his lip and picking at his hands enough to draw blood. It was a terrible nervous habit of his, but they could discuss that later. For now Kokichi was busy staring at Shuichi and watching him try to find a way to drag himself out of this situation.  
“I- Fine. Fine, you really want to know, I...” Shuichi sighed, finally conceding. Kokichi’s heart lifted a little. “My parents are home. They’ve been home for- for about a week now, I-I think. That’s it. That’s all.”  
It wasn’t all. Kokichi knew that. But his heart sunk to his feet anyway. Even the implication that his parents simply being home was enough for Shuichi to have a break down like this... that wasn’t good. No, that was terrible. He had a few members of DICE with bad parents rather than none, and he knew what kind of things must go down to make somebody— to make _Shuichi_ shatter this hard. Kokichi had never known his parents, he’d been stuck in and out of foster homes and orphanages for his entire life until he finally got away. He had his fair share of bad parents but those would only last weeks if not days until he found a way to make them give him back. So to have a life of on and on abuse, which Shuichi had clearly never told anybody... that hurt him. To know somebody he cared about was going through.  
“Shuichi.” Kokichi began, his voice soft but stern regardless. “What do they do to you?” It was a simple question. But it was insanely important in figuring out how to help him.  
“Uh... They usually just... tell me things I already know. B-But they never put their hands on me—or, not when I don’t deserve it, anyway.” Shuichi never deserved to be hit. Nothing he could ever do would make him deserve that. And things he already knew? This was bad. This was really bad. His parents had gotten into his head.  
“You never deserve to be hit. How long are they usually around?” Kokichi asked, prying. He needed to know more. More about the situation. He needed to help. He wouldn’t lay low and let the person he cared about most suffer.  
“U-Usually only a few days... My dad’s a famous actor, and my mom’s a famous screenwriter. So they’re almost always busy. They only ever stop by to get me groceries and other essentials, rest a night, then they’re off...” Came the explanation. Neglect and abuse. No wonder Shuichi was... the way that he was. Introverted, independent, shy and anxious and so many other things.  
“Do you know why they’re here? Or how long they’ll stay?” That seemed to strike a nerve, because Shuichi let out a dry sob and the tears he’d failed to notice piling started to flow.  
“N-No! I don’t! A-And I can’t even _ask_ because that would be _rude_ a-and make it sound like I don’t want them around!”  
“But you don’t.”  
“But I _don’t!”_  
“Do you have any other family?”  
“O-Only my uncle but I... I-I can’t tell him. Ruin his relationship w-with his sister. That would be s-selfish.”  
“Okay, okay. Alright. Come here..” Kokichi let his voice fall soft. Interrogation on hold, Shuichi needed a hug. And as Shuichi hesitantly approached the desk he was sitting on, the smaller boy reached out his arms, beckoning the bluenet in. He wrapped his arms around Shuichi, rocking them both slowly from side to side, mumbling tiny reassurances while the other boy just cried. After a few moments, the silence was broken.  
“I-I’m sorry for making you worry...”  
“No, no, you did nothing wrong, Shumai! Nuh-uh.” Kokichi pulled back, looking Shuichi in the eyes. He returned to his goofy persona. Serious time was over.  
“I-If you say so...” The detective wiped his face with his sleeve, avoiding returning the eye contact. “Please don’t... _keep_ worrying about me. They’ll leave eventually. I can handle it.”  
Well, turns out Kokichi’s playfulness wouldn’t last long. Not when he said stuff like that.  
“No, you can’t. You look like a raccoon that hasn’t found a bad trash can in weeks.” He still wanted to keep it lighthearted, bring Shuichi’s mood up. “I propose you stay with me until the bastards are gone!” It wasn’t like Kokichi had any parents of his own to say no. The place was a small apartment he had managed to get once he’d been emancipated from the foster care system. He was usually able to scrape up enough money to stay, and even in worst case scenario he would find a way to make it through.  
Shuichi hesitantly gave a nod. “I-I could... see about it. I try to stay home while they’re around but considering they don’t care what I do when I’m gone it’ll... be fine. Probably.” He paused again, and then continued. “I just don’t know how long they’ll be there a-and I wouldn’t want to... inconvenience you.”  
“Shu-i-chiiiiiii!” Kokichi whined, obnoxious on purpose. Shuichi needed his mood brought up and being mildly annoying was the perfect way to do that! “I’m doing this because I _want_ to! You’re not bothering me. You’ll never be bothering me. I care about you, you know. So just… don’t worry about it, ‘Kay?”  
And that was that. Shuichi _didn’t_ worry about it. He was going to go home with Kokichi after school. He was going to be away from his parents, and he was going to be safe. It was going to be fine. They would have to leave eventually and he could go back home. All he had to do was just tell them he would be visiting a friend for a while.

Or so he thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah I was planning for this to be one chapter but I couldn't find a good stopping point that wouldn't make it really long and I have no idea how long it'll actually end up being!!!!! I'm gonna go with a uhh 2-3 chapters but that's based on absolutely nothing


End file.
